


Land and Sea

by Serie11



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Pining, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Self-Reflection, in a bitter way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 23:51:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17928725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: The first eveningafter, Riku sits on the paopu tree, looking out over the ocean. The glare of the sun almost hides the main island and makes him feel like he’s really alone out here. He wants to be alone. Sora is –Sora is gone.





	Land and Sea

The first evening _after_ , Riku sits on the paopu tree, looking out over the ocean. The glare of the sun almost hides the main island and makes him feel like he’s really alone out here. He wants to be alone. Sora is –

Sora is gone.

He has long practise keeping a blank expression, and it serves him well now, even when there is no one around to see him. The only person he is hiding from is himself, and perhaps that is the hardest mask to put on. He did it for that fateful year while Sora slept and he ran around harassing Roxas and Xion into giving themselves up so his best friend could wake up. In the end, it doesn’t matter – Roxas and Xion are back in Twilight Town. And –

Sora is gone.

The sun is hurting his eyes but he stubbornly looks into it anyway. Maybe this is just another way to blind himself. If he can choose not to look at things, then maybe he can ease the gnawing ache inside his chest for a brief lull of time. He does not know if he can, because this is so big. He feels like the entire world has been yanked out from under his feet. Sora was always there – Sora was the first friend he ever made and Sora was always in his classes with him and Sora was always happy to play with him and Sora was always there if Riku wanted to talk to him. It seems inconceivable that _Riku_ is the one left behind in the end. Riku is used to teetering on the edge of darkness, of almost losing himself. He had never considered that the same thing could happen to Sora.

Sora is gone, and there’s no way for Riku to talk to him now. No way for him to grab his shirt and shake him and demand to know why he left him behind.

“Riku?”

Riku doesn’t flinch but he tenses. He came here to be alone – but if there was one person who he wouldn’t mind interrupting him, it was Kairi.

Kairi comes down from the bridge, her footsteps light and centred. She walks like a fighter now, and Riku hates that she has had to become one – that he couldn’t protect her, either. She was never interested in fighting with their toy swords when they were younger, preferring to cheer them on from the sidelines and comfort anyone who needed it. She has always been there to aid a friend in need. He stares out over the ocean and does not look at her.

Kairi comes and stands next to him, but she has her body turned towards him, not the ocean like they would have, _before_. Another change.

“I thought your dad wanted you back at home for dinner?”

“I can run a lot faster now than when I was ten, you know,” Kairi chastises him lightly. “And he’ll understand if I’m a few minutes late. Or if I bring someone else with me.”

Riku isn’t even looking at her, but he turns his face away anyway. That just makes it worse – he’s looking at the spot where Sora always sat on the tree. It makes his heart ache.

Kairi puts a hand on his arm and Riku fights the urge to shrug her off. Kairi only wants what’s best for him, he knows that. He just doesn’t feel it. Normally he would wrap an arm around her waist to bring her closer, but he wants to be alone.

Kairi doesn’t take his silence for an answer. “Riku, come home with me. Please?”

“You shouldn’t want me near you,” Riku says roughly, the words tearing themselves from his throat. He takes a step away from Kairi and towards the edge of the small island so he can look down to where the sea is lapping at the land. Eventually, the ocean will wear this island away, earth all dispersed where the ocean tides take it. He tries not to feel like this applies to him, now, but Kairi’s patient presence does nothing to disprove it.

“It’s okay to be upset,” Kairi says, and her voice is suddenly squeaky. Riku feels his gut twist in self-loathing. Of course, she’s feeling Sora’s absence as well. He shouldn’t take his helplessness out on her. “I’m upset too. But sitting out here by yourself isn’t going to solve anything.”

Riku bites back the urge to tell her that it’s as good as anything else. That won’t help, and it will probably hurt Kairi. He doesn’t want that.

“I’m sorry,” he tries to say.

Kairi steps closer to him. Riku still doesn’t look at her.

“Do you need to say anything?” she asks him quietly. “I’m here. There’s no one else to listen in.”

As if Riku doesn’t know that. The only reason Kairi surprised him is because she has no darkness tainting her heart. He can tell when anyone else is around because he can feel the darkness. And that’s just another point against him, isn’t it, just another reason why –

“Riku?” Kairi asks, so gently.

He sighs, all the fight and the stupid, pointless resistance gone. That doesn’t matter anymore. “It just doesn’t seem fair. After all the time I spent fighting the darkness, Sora is the one who is gone. It just kept coming back and coming and back and I thought that…” he trails off.

“You thought that it would get to you eventually?” Kairi asks quietly.

Riku makes an affirming noise. “I never expected it to be him. _I_ was the one who was meant to leave.”

Kairi sighs, and Riku hears all her regret. “So you’re mad at him.”

“What?” Riku asks, startled. He whips around to stare at Kairi, who is solemn. “No! Why would I be mad?”

“Because he left you behind. Because you never thought you would have to be without him unless you chose. Those are more than enough reasons. People are angry at far less.”

Riku squeezes his lips shut. If it were anyone else talking, he would have punched them by now. But Kairi has always had a way of cutting to the heart of things, and he usually regrets not listening to her.

“You two were always thick as thieves, running around and playing together. I always felt lucky just to be on your periphery. And when you included me, it felt amazing. But…” she takes a deep breath. “You never even thought of excluding each other. And I had to ask. So yeah, I get why you’re upset.”

Riku feels his cheeks flush red. “Kairi, I –”

She waves him off. “We were just kids. Kids do dumb things, and don’t see who they’re hurting, and don’t look beyond themselves. That’s what kids do. I don’t hold that against you. I can stand by myself now, and you include me because you want to. That’s all I want.”

“Right,” Riku sighs. He slouches, bending his head, but he’s still far taller than Kairi.

“He’s gone, Riku.” It sounds like less of a reminder and more like Kairi is finally admitting it to herself. “Sometimes I feel like it’s all just a dream.”

Riku flexes but he can’t feel his wings. “Not a dream,” he says quietly. Kairi nods, once, final. She takes a deep breath in and squares her shoulders.

“I’m going to find him,” Kairi says, so casually that Riku almost doesn’t understand her.

“What?” he asks, stunned.

“Sora rescued all of us. I think it’s time that we rescue him, don’t you?” She tilts her head and quirks a smile at him. “I know that we can go on without him, but it seems rude to leave him hanging like that.”

Riku stares at her.

“I don’t think it will be easy,” Kairi warns. “And I don’t know where to start. But we can do it together. I know we can.”

Riku grabs her by the waist and lifts her up, spinning in a circle before putting her down again. Kairi laughs in his arms and grins up at him and Riku kisses her. Colours are suddenly in the world again, and he feels alive, Kairi’s heart fluttering under his fingers as she kisses him back, bold and deep. She reaches up and twines her fingers in his hair and Riku tugs her closer.

Maybe they both need this, outside of everything else. Riku’s world had fallen apart but the spark of hope that is newly burning in his chest means he can _think_ again. Kairi had given that to him; Kairi has always given him hope, and light, and every good thing she has been able to that Riku has never felt that he deserved. Even now the feeling of her under his hands is golden. She is spun light in physical form and he does not deserve to touch her but he does, hands tight on her waist and tongue in her mouth. Kairi leans up to follow him when he pulls away, trailing her hands down his chest.

“I never fell to darkness,” Riku says, satisfaction welling up in him. “And neither will Sora.”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” Kairi says. “Will you come to dinner now? We’re going to need all the strength we can get if we’re going to stage a rescue mission.”

“Yeah,” Riku says, purpose beating under his skin again. “Yeah, okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> this fic brought to you by the fact that there's no way Sora's staying gone. I hope Kairi and Riku are both involved in bringing him back... plus an excuse for rikai kisses, which are always good


End file.
